Yo,
If you read my last blog, you’d know I said there really isn’t an excuse for me taking a two-month hiatus from writing for this blog. I stand by that, but now it’s time to talk about the last couple of months because a lot has happened.
The last two months have been challenging for a few reasons. First, working from home is dumb. I somehow became busier as research grants, proposals, ethics submission and zoom meetings and workouts consumed my life. After an 8+-hour day of doing that, starring at a screen for another minute was not going to happen. Yes, that was my first excuse.
My second ‘excuse’ is attached to the Black Lives Matter movement resurgence. Overnight I realized that being Black is a political statement in its own. I have always been open about my own ignorance towards systemic racism and how I am actively working to understand others’ experiences, but I won’t lie, I was not ready for this.
Overnight, my platform increased significantly. All of a sudden I had these ‘allies’ that were liking and sharing all of my things like I had just discovered the vaccine for COVID. Suddenly everything I had to say was gospel and every workout I posted was ‘amazing’! At first, I was annoyed. Like, is this a pity vote? Do people think tossing a follow, like or share would un-do systemic racism? I was looked to for answers on how to be a better ally as if I was supposed to teach people how not to be racist at the molecular level even though deep down I was struggling with accepting my own Blackness and perceived notions of what it meant to be ‘Black’.
I didn’t know what to post. Do I just keep up with the workout videos? Do I solely post about being Black in the fitness industry? I realized that my series More Than Genetics was even more important now than before. People weren’t just watching; they were now listening. Through those first conversations I learned how unique the Black experience is for everyone, but also how we have all had similar experiences within the fitness industry.
I plan on continuing these conversations for as long as I can in some type of format. To continue to educate the listeners and even myself. Like I said earlier, being Black is a political statement in itself; may as well talk about – no matter how uncomfortable it may be. #BlackLivesMatter
Halifax, NS